Any snowboarders here?

[NoRice]

I need to get my son a snowboard, boots and bindings for xmas. Any recommendations? He is a beginner and only been 1 time before. We got him a season lift ticket and 10 lessons from a local pro, but am unsure of what to do for the equipment. They of course recommended the most expensive stuff in the store, but you know how that goes.

[Rocman]

I have never gone, but one of my friends used to go all the time until he tweaked his knee and tore 3 out of 4 tendons, and dislocated his knee. This happened 2 years ago, and he is still hobbling around on a brace. They even had to take a tendon from a cadaver to replace his.

The funny thing is that he had a good amount of experience, and did this just going down a hill. No stunts or anything foolish.

[v10kingsnake]

I was big into snowboarding a few years back. Traveled the country with friends all over the Country to board. I have a Burton board. Can't go wrong with their products. They invented the sport. As far as boots I highly recommend you take him in for a fitting. GOOD boots are 250 up. Don't skimp on his feet. Also invest in wrist guards until he gets good. Most common injury is your wrists and thumb breaks and strains. I went through many pairs of gloves finding the best match for me and again dry hands are most important factor here. I settled on a pair of SCOTT gloves which really are skiing gloves. Most snowboarders prefer mittens though. SCOTTS were the only ones that stood up to the abuse of falling hands first without allowing ANY water to penetrate the glove. Dry hands are warm ones when in sub freezing temps. For the bindings DO NOT GO WITH CLIP IN STYLES. They look cool but ALL get ice inside the latch and you kid will be banging the shit out of it to get his foot to clip back in. Either that or wait until a skier allows him to chisel it out with their pole. A good package deal will run you 800-900 dollars for gloves 100/board 450-500/bindings and boots 300-350. Prices may have come down because this is what I spent years ago. Board length is important. How tall is your son?

[NoRice]

Originally Posted by v10kingsnake

I was big into snowboarding a few years back. Traveled the country with friends all over the Country to board. I have a Burton board. Can't go wrong with their products. They invented the sport. As far as boots I highly recommend you take him in for a fitting. GOOD boots are 250 up. Don't skimp on his feet. Also invest in wrist guards until he gets good. Most common injury is your wrists and thumb breaks and strains. I went through many pairs of gloves finding the best match for me and again dry hands are most important factor here. I settled on a pair of SCOTT gloves which really are skiing gloves. Most snowboarders prefer mittens though. SCOTTS were the only ones that stood up to the abuse of falling hands first without allowing ANY water to penetrate the glove. Dry hands are warm ones when in sub freezing temps. For the bindings DO NOT GO WITH CLIP IN STYLES. They look cool but ALL get ice inside the latch and you kid will be banging the shit out of it to get his foot to clip back in. Either that or wait until a skier allows him to chisel it out with their pole. A good package deal will run you 800-900 dollars for gloves 100/board 450-500/bindings and boots 300-350. Prices may have come down because this is what I spent years ago. Board length is important. How tall is your son?

He is 5-8", 130lbs and has size 12 feet. I believe he needs a 146cm board that is just as wide as his boots will be if I understood them correctly. I may go longer on the board by a few cm as he is growing pretty fast. I am 6-4" and reached that height in 10th grade, he is in 9th grade and I wouldn't be surprised if he grew another 3-4" over the next year. He eats like food is going out of style and is still thin as a rail.

[boplaw]

A helmet and wrist guards are most important. I agree with Josh, boots have got to be comfortable or it will be miserable after a few hours. I have Flow boots/bindings because they are easy to get in and out of for the short runs we have around here.

[Casey111]

Like Josh said, you cant go wrong with Burton gear. I havnt gone in a while but i have a burton board and its great. You definatly gotta have him try on the boots, a bad pair will ruin a beautiful day or boarding. I use K2 mittens and those work awsome but im not sure what the best brand is for those right now. For the most part, you get what you pay for with gear until you get into Forum and M3 stuff, and than its just off the chain.